Critic Reviews

Sam & Max definitely know how to make an entrance. While I would have been happy with nothing more than a new batch of cases to solve, The Penal Zone offers a crazy new narrative, improved graphics, a gripping storyline, an improved control scheme and brand new psychic abilities. Plus you get to play with Silly Putty. And seriously, who can resist Silly Putty?

If The Penal Zone is any indication of the quality of the episodes to come, then consider me totally on board for The Devil's Playhouse. It's a bigger, better-looking adventure that moves the series forward in some surprising and substantial ways, and it remains one of the few legitimately funny games out there. Either Telltale's really starting to hit their stride, or I've finally played enough of these games to fully embrace the Bugs Bunny mindset that's necessary to properly enjoy Sam & Max.

Sam & Max definitely know how to make an entrance. While I would have been happy with nothing more than a new batch of cases to solve, The Penal Zone offers a crazy new narrative, improved graphics, a gripping storyline, an improved control scheme and brand new psychic abilities. Plus you get to play with Silly Putty. And seriously, who can resist Silly Putty?

Given Telltale's record for producing excellent games, returning fans shouldn't even think twice about picking up this first chapter for Chapter 3. But if you are a first-time adopter, a demo of the game might be worth checking out, if not just to see if its type of humor is up your alley. Phew, I made it through the review without making a wisecrack about The Penal Zone! Oh wait... *sigh*

We have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by The Penal Zone. An advanced graphical engine and a move toward direct control were a given, but what we didn’t expect was for Telltale to up its game so considerably, reinventing the Sam & Max template in ways that nobody knew they needed until faced with them. And if this first episode is any indication of the benchmark set for the series as a whole, then we’re in for a very funny, very clever five months of madcap animal sleuthing.

Anyone fearing that the latest Sam & Max might tread water need worry no longer. With the trademark sharp witticisms layered onto challenging and inventive puzzles, this is the best possible start to the new season.

As the start of a new season, The Penal Zone definitely gets things going right out of the gate. While people just entering the series now might think they have missed something pivotal, they really haven't and even little bits of knowledge you might need from the previous games are quickly recapped when appropriate. So while I would definitely recommend going back and playing the previous two seasons of Sam & Max, it isn't necessary for starting off The Devil's Playhouse. This promises to be a fun and interesting season. I can't wait to see what The Tomb of Sammun-Muk will bring.

What remains the same is the sharp, witty writing that continues to supply belly laughs and giggles. From random Flash Gordon quotes to the continual kicking at the remaining cast while they’re down, Telltale have lost no pace while they’ve been working on their other projects in Sam & Max‘s off-season hiatus. Quite the contrary -- in their eagerness to advance the genre and add on to their already winning formula they do enough to surprise those returning back after the first two seasons with their willingness to evolve and take risks with new directions. Season Three has truly started with a bang, and I’m excited to see if that momentum can continue in the following months.

The Penal Zone is a really good adventure game, and has the chances of being the best Season of Sam & Max that has come along, but it still has some minor bugs to work out with the interface. Aside from making everything feel like it should be played with the controller instead of mouse and keyboard, the first ten or so minutes of the story unfold in a rather odd way that hangs over the rest of the episode. Although some of this can just be explained away with the broadening appeal of the series as well as the introduction of a new hint system. Fans should have already bought this entire season before it came out, everyone else may want to start back at season one to catch up. If for no other reason than to understand why it looks like Sam & Max live on a recently bombed street.

Surely, any gamers that have played previous seasons of Sam & Max would expect that same level of entertaining characters, solid-though-zany storyline and laugh-out-loud hilarity and gameplay the episodic games are known for. But with a great new graphical presentation and the immensely upgraded gameplay interface that really improves the gameplay, the first episode of the third Sam & Max season is an entirely unexpected gaming treat.

Storywise, it certainly helps if you've played the Sam & Max games in the past as there are plenty of returning characters and references to prior games abound. You can certainly start your Sam & Max career with this game, but you'll miss out on the full experience. If you're a returning veteran you'll be happy to hear that all of that great trademark Sam & Max humor is here in (sam) spades. Overall, The Penal Zone's story does have the feel of an opening chapter, delivering more setup than self-contained story. But that's OK because I like where things are going, and look forward to seeing how this season plays out. Hey Max, what's your Futurevision showing you...?

Not that the other games in the series were slouches when it came to their style, but the new season blows them all out of the water, with enhanced graphics and gameplay improvements that move the series in a wonderful direction. It's apparent that they've pulled out all of the stops this time around, putting together an introductory episode that should prove as a great opening for newcomers, and a fantastic follow-up for those who have been following the series for some time now. After a handful of entertaining hours, it comes to a close with a bang, paying off in a big way and guaranteeing some interesting follow-up episodes.

The Penal Zone is a masterly setup for the rest of the new Sam & Max series, with intriguing innovations and improvements, but enough references to the past to sustain fans of the first two seasons. Max is a fellow of infinite variety and jest, confounding concerns that, after eleven episodes, Sam & Max may be getting a trifle stale. My only overall criticism is that The Penal Zone leaves so much for upcoming episodes to build upon that it doesn't feel quite as substantial as previous opening episodes.

You know, really, what else is there to say? This is a bit like reviewing a new box of Dutch chocolates. They're great! Still chocolatey. As far as I could tell the required specs and other game incidentals are fairly similar to the previous two seasons. I think Sam’s notebook, where he keeps tabs on evidence and suspects, etcetera, may be new, but I’m not sure. I always try to ignore a game’s help system, regardless of how well it’s disguised, or even, as in this case, amusingly written. Really, the only thing left to say is, Welcome back, boys. Now, go get 'em.

The Penal Zone is full of humour, great characters and some clever writing. There’s some time-twisting stuff which take me back to those Tentacle days; and Max’s psychic powers are also an original and often hilarious device. This first episode of the new 5-part season bodes well for the future adventures of the Freelance Police, and we’ll be following the surreal plot developments with anticipation.

The game looks better than any Telltale game I’ve played thus far, the story is typical for the genre but it’s told in a welcome new way, and the game’s filled with off-beat, colorful characters. The developer only has a few bugs to exterminate to make this a good beginning to what could be a very entertaining new season of episodes.

If you don´t enjoy adventure games (in the classic sense), this is unlikely to sway you round, as it doesn´t really change a lot to the standard formula. But what it does, it once again does well, and anyone who has enjoyed a Telltale game before could do a lot worse.

Such complaints sound like the nitpicking it really is, however, as overall there’s nothing that should keep even the most marginal Sam & Max fans away. It's been a whole two years without a new adventure for the Freelance Police, but the wait has been worth it, at least for one episode. Whether this high quality continues throughout the rest of The Devil’s Playhouse remains to be seen, but The Penal Zone is a very strong start of what looks to be another season of whimsical comic destruction.

Sam & Max The Devil's Playhouse Episode 301: The Penal Zone is not only a great leadoff for the new season, it is probably the most impressive episode for the entire series. Notwithstanding the somewhat overwhelming new interface, the game is nearly flawless. It is funny to play and to experience. Keep up the good work, Telltale Games! Max demands more psychic powers!

Telltale brings its A-game with The Penal Zone [EDITOR'S NOTE: bwah!] and it's a strong start for the season. It clearly establishes a repeating theme of Max gaining and then exploiting ridiculous new psychic powers with each episode, something that, if the quality of the execution stays where it is, should make for a fun season. Of course, the catch here is that, other than the iPad version, which has some tragic frame rate issues, both the PSN and PC versions of The Devil's Playhouse require you to invest in the full season up-front. It's a bit of a gamble for first-timers, but fans of the series and the genre should have little to worry about.

As a fan of the Sam & Max series, and adventure games in general, I thoroughly enjoyed The Penal Zone despite its few flaws. It is a funny, solid start to the new season, with a climatic ending that leaves you eager to get your hands on episode two. But you probably don't need me to tell you that. If you are a fan of the Freelance Police also, this is already on your must-play list. If you are a newcomer, this is a good time to jump into one of the funniest titles currently on the market.

As an introduction to the season, The Penal Zone does a good job of setting the stage for more zaniness to come. Unfortunately, the story elements here are a bit thin but at least the episode focuses on one truly interesting new character in the cast. The send ups of the classic paranormal shows and movies are starting to ramp up and promise to deliver even more as the season progresses.

Is Sam & Max worth playing? Yes and no. While it's enjoyable to solve puzzles and uncover a story in a genre that doesn't receive a lot of mileage these days, it's a little unfortunate that the themes and humor borrow from this ancient Looney Tunes-meets-90s-attitude rather than create a new world and identity all its own. So on the one hand, Max's psychic powers add a very, very interesting dynamic to gameplay, but on the other hand, Max is a "psychotic bunny" - get it? If you think that's funny, don't worry... Sam & Max have a million of 'em! In fact, the jokes never seem to end...